Dead Fish

A week, maybe two, ago I noticed a fish floating right at the top of the pond. Fearing the worst I gently started to scoop it out, but it moved and slowly swam off.

Yesterday, I found the same fish dead in the pond. We buried it today. We had 6 fish altogether, a mix of Koi and Goldfish and something else kind of big. The remaining five look very healthy and big, darting around and such. We've had them just under a year.

The fish looked fine, bright and big. I can't think of what might have killed it. Does anyone have any ideas? Are the other fish in jeopardy?

As I posted about before, our pump seems to have stopped working and there is a bit of slime on top of the pond, I clear it away once or twice a week. The pond itself is teeming with life though, dragonflies, boatmen, the occasional frog and lots of water lillies and other flowers and plants.

 

when i had tropical fish Erin you really dont
know how old they are when you buy them,if the rest are alright,i wouldnt think it was anything
serious ,although the pump does help

 

Hi there...you say that your pump has stopped working,is it still not working? Also..how long has it been like this? I assume you have a filter? cheers....freddy.

 

If you have a water testing kit test the water don't leave it to chance; if not obtain one from your local aquatics store. Cold water fish are renowned for how dirty they are; ie how much detritis they generate. As water becomes polluted the higher - more sensitive - life forms perish first. The lower life forms can survive in/on remarkably polluted water. Fancy goldfish breeds are particularly vulnerable to very low levels of polution. Often these types are seen floating through overfeeding as their swim bladders get compressed, it's Another thing to consider if you have mixed fancy goldfish with much greedier koy!

 

SOunds like a water quality problem to me. Get your water tested so that you know what you are dealing with and I'd get the pump up and running a.s.a.p.

 

Hi......do you have a filter ?

 

I think it is your pump! One hot day last year a friend turned off her pump and went away for a few days. When she returned all her fish had died and she was so upset.

I think they need the pump/filter to oxygenate the water. When we first created a water garden with fish we didn't immediately get a pump and we had a lot of fish deaths. Now we make sure that our pump and filter are working efficiently we never have a problem and our fish are looking great!

Snowflake